LCME gives stamp of approval to SOM

School of Medicine faculty and staff celebrate the conclusion of a successful accreditation site visit by a team from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) at an on-campus reception March 7. Although the final results won't be known until June, the preliminary findings were "extremely positive," said Dr. LouAnn Woodward, medical school vice dean. Representatives of the school's accreditation team on hand for the reception include, from left, Dr. Jerry Clark, Dr. Loretta Jackson-Williams, Dr. John Correia, Dr. Helen Turner, Dr. James Keeton, Woodward, Brian Rutledge, Dr. David Brown and Dr. Rob Rockhold.

Bethea to lead multicultural affairs council

John W. Bethea, assistant professor of anesthesiology and director of the Medical Advanced Skill and Simulation Center, has been elected president of the Medical Center’s new Community Advisory Council for Multicultural Affairs. The council offers non-binding advisory recommendations to increase community awareness and understanding of the Division of Multicultural Affairs, strengthen the division’s programs and activities, increase the division’s outreach and communication, support the division’s efforts and serve as legislative and civic policy advocates for the division. A graduate of the College of Charleston, Bethea earned the M.D. at the Medical University of South Carolina. He joined the Medical Center faculty in 2008 from Fairfield Anesthesia Associates in Lancaster, Ohio.

Cowan, Gearhart make HEADWAE with award

Dr. Helen Turner, right, presents a Higher Education Appreciation Day - Working for Academic Excellence (HEADWAE) award to Morgan Cowan, left, fourth-year medical student, and Dr. Judith Gearhart, professor of medicine and director of the Clinical Skills Assessment Center on Feb. 28. The HEADWAE red apple award is given annually to the outstanding student and faculty member from every institution of higher learning in the state.

Richards to speak at Piney Woods event

Dr. La’Toya R. Richards, associate professor of clinical laboratory science and program and budget director for clinical laboratory science, will speak at the Piney Woods Science Convocation on March 21.

A graduate of Tougaloo College, Richards earned the Ph.D. in clinical health sciences from UMMC in 2006.

UHHS interim CEO cops top nursing alum honor

Dr. Kim Hoover, left, School of Nursing dean, and Paul Boackle, helicopter transport nurse and Nursing Alumni Chapter president, present the 2012 Nursing Alumnus of the Year Award to Janet Harris during the school's annual alumni dinner March 1 at River Hills Country Club in Jackson. Currently serving as chief nursing executive officer and interim CEO of University Hospitals and Health System, Harris earned both her B.S.N. and M.S.N. at the School of Nursing.

Neurology faculty welcome Ehtisham

Dr. As’ad Ehtisham has joined the Medical Center faculty as an associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery.

A 1985 graduate of Government College in Lahore, Pakistan, Ehtisham received the M.D. from King Edward Medical University in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1992. Ehtisham did an internship in internal medicine from 1999-2000 and residency training in neurology from 2000-03 at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center, Lexington. Ehtisham then had a cerebrovascular diseases and stroke fellowship from 2003-04 and an advanced neuroscience critical care fellowship from 2004-05 at Emory University Hospitals, Atlanta, Ga.

Ehitsham joined the faculty at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita, in 2005 as an assistant clinical professor and served as medical director and principal investigator of the Neuroscience Critical Care and Stroke Program there from 2005-09. Ehtisham then became medical director of the Neuroscience Critical Care and Stroke Program at Norton Health Care Hospitals in Louisville, Ky., from 2009-11.

A fellow of the American Heart Association, Ehtisham has coauthored more than 10 articles for peer-reviewed publications, one book chapter, and more than a dozen posters and abstracts.

Brandon, Moore give graduate studies lecture

Dr. Liz Brandon, assistant professor of biological sciences at Mississippi College, speaks to a group of UMMC students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty members about career preparation during the School of Graduate Studies lecture series, “Career Opportunity and Professional Development,” March 8 on the UMMC campus. Brandon, who did her postdoctoral training at UMMC, and Dr. Quincy Moore, an assistant professor of biology at Prairie View A&M University and a graduate of the School of Graduate Studies and former post-doc in microbiology, gave the 60-member audience firsthand advice. Careful negotiations with potential employers, time management, networking, organization of accomplishments and being in agreement with institutional goals can all make for a happy employment situation, they said.

UMMC staff receive service recognition

The Medical Center is proud to acknowledge those employees who will celebrate service anniversaries this week:

Mitchell to present town hall meetings

Dr. Marc Mitchell, University Physicians president, and other UP leaders will present a series of town hall meetings for UP staff from 4-5 p.m. on Monday, March 12, in Pavilion classroom M016 and from 3-4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, in the Community Meeting Room at the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center. The presentations will provide important updates from UP leadership. Door prizes and refreshments will be available. The March 9 presentation will be available online at http://avstream.umsmed.edu/mov.php?mid=2026&aid=2027&cat=00028&br=256. For more information, call Chrita Vutera at 4-5167.

DIS announces new order entry procedure

Effective Thursday, March 15, open-ended daily orders for lab and radiology should no longer be written, and the order entry system will be modified to reflect this change. Individuals who continue to write recurring orders will receive a call or a page from the unit clerk with a message that the system will not allow the recurring order to be entered. Clinically important exceptions will be identified and handled on an individual basis. For more information about the mainframe installation or daily orders, call the Service Desk at 4-1145 or e-mail servicedesk@umc.edu.

Third quarterly blood drive slated March 26-30

Mississippi Blood Services personnel will visit the Medical Center March 26-30 for the third of UMMC's quarterly blood drives in 2011-12. All donors will receive an MBS T-shirt, click on the logo to the right for a larger view. Identification is required to donate blood. Times, dates and places for the drive include: 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, March 26, between the Guyton Research Center and the School of Medicine and at the University Hospital entrance; 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, between the Guyton Research Center and the School of Medicine; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, at the main entrance to the Central Billing Office in Clinton; 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, between the Guyton Research Center and the School of Medicine; 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, March 29, at the Batson Children's Hospital entrance; from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, March 29, in the Community Meeting Room at the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center; and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, March 30, at the University Hospital entrance. For more information about UMMC's blood drive, call Renee Howard at 4-2884 or send her an e-mail at rhoward@umc.edu.

Cancer prevention study seeks participants

The American Cancer Society and UMMC are seeking to enroll 1,000 or more people from the Jackson area - many from UMMC - into the Cancer Prevention Study 3, or CPS-3. Participants’ health will be tracked through the next 20-30 years. The data collected will help researchers learn more about the many factors that can cause and prevent cancer. Volunteers need to be 30-65 years of age with no history of cancer, not including basal or squamous cell skin cancer. During in-person enrollment, volunteers will be asked to read and sign a consent form, complete a survey packet on lifestyle, behavioral and other health information, have a waist measurement taken and give a small blood sample. Enrollment will take about an hour and will be scheduled at UMMC between Tuesday-Friday, March 27-30. For more information about the study or to schedule an in-person enrollment in CPS-3, visit http://www.cps3jackson.org/.

Friends of RML to host used book sale

Friends of the Rowland Medical Library will host a used book sale from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, April 17-20 and a reception from 2:30-4 p.m. Thursday, April 19, in the second-floor foyer of the Verner Holmes Learning Resource Center. Records, framed art, paperbacks and hardback books will be available for sale, and the event will include a silent auction and a drawing. For more information, call Linda Bouchillon at 4-1290.